This is your opportunity to see the matchups you want to see when they are tired and exhausted. Now that we have gone over how to set the tone for hockey tryouts and how to structure your hockey tryout we want to give you five drills that are great for evaluating your players at tryouts. This segment will focus […]

The four-dot chip drill will help players get used to supporting the puck and chipping past forecheckers in the neutral zone. Here are several ways to practice the power-play breakout. One of the most important aspects of the breakout is timing. Practice and repetition are required to perfect the timing of the breakout. The simplest […]

Mindlessly throwing in extra sets, reps and conditioning work without taking the context of the entire program “as a whole” into consideration will not give you any further benefit. “Hey Dan, can I add XYZ to my existing program?” “Coach Garner! When is the best time to add in this finisher I saw?” “Hey coach, […]

“In essence, whether the team reaches its full potential is up to the parents, not the coaches.” In today’s world of youth sports, parents are interwoven into the fabric of the teams on which their kids play. This is quite a change from 20 years ago when the kids were dropped off at the rink […]

After each exercise the players run one lap around the track and then jump right into the next exercise. The three-mile mixer is a workout specifically for hockey players.   It is great for hockey players looking to increase their leg strength, stamina, aerobic and anaerobic capability. This workout consists of 12 skating specific exercises done in intervals […]

Check only for purpose. Checking just for the sake of a hit is seldom of value and creates risk of self-injury, missed checks and open opposition players, as well as penalties. These Golden Rules are the key items players should be striving to master as they progress up through the ranks to high school and […]

Some of the most effective players will also be the most effective in tighter areas. It forces players to make quicker decisions with and without the puck, protect the puck, play physical and play smarter. This article is written in response to a question asked by one of our members. We were asked if we […]

Addressing shoulder tightness with hockey players is extremely important for puck handling ability, shot power and shot accuracy. Hockey players have been stretching prior to games, practices and workouts for a very long time now. Sometimes correctly and sometimes incorrectly — even to the point where they are harming their own performance potential. I have discussed the […]

Wearing equipment that fits properly is very important to allow our goalies to succeed. These drills should be done every practice. You cannot expect goalies to get better if they are only getting shots in practice with no work on their technique. Some goalies may not be able to do a few of these drills. Start […]

The coaches should encourage lots of effort and energy but stay away from coaching in this segment. The Whole-Part-Whole practice philosophy is a practice structure that is different from the more traditional progressive practice structure. It may not be applicable to all age and skill levels, and it is up to coaches or directors to decide […]